Alte Geschichte Schreiben

English summary: How do classical historians "do" classical history? Is what they form of do craft, or is it science? Or are they merely applying tried and tested strategies in order, pragmatically and without risk, to generate new texts from randomly handed down material, such as inscriptions, coins, pottery shards, the remains of buildings, works of art, and above all, literary texts? How do they amass 'facts' and how, in contrast to pseudo history or fictional literature, do they...
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English summary: How do classical historians "do" classical history? Is what they form of do craft, or is it science? Or are they merely applying tried and tested strategies in order, pragmatically and without risk, to generate new texts from randomly handed down material, such as inscriptions, coins, pottery shards, the remains of buildings, works of art, and above all, literary texts? How do they amass 'facts' and how, in contrast to pseudo history or fictional literature, do they create 'meaning'? And what indeed is (classical) history actually for? In this lively essay, Neville Morley encourages us to think about these and other related questions. Without pointing a finger, but sometimes with a touch of sarcasm and humor, he sheds light on standard routines and encourages beginners as well as those who have already become frustrated, to apply their own intelligence on the path into the classical world. German description: Wie 'machen' Althistoriker Alte Geschichte? Ist das, was sie tun, Handwerk oder Wissenschaft? Oder wenden sie nur uberlieferte Strategien an, um pragmatisch und risikofrei aus dem zufallig uberlieferten Material Inschriften, Munzen, Tonscherben, Uberresten von Gebauden, Kunstwerken und vor allem literarischen Texten neue Texte zu produzieren? Wie erheben sie 'Fakten', wie bilden sie 'Sinn', in Abgrenzung zu Pseudohistorie oder fiktionaler Literatur? Und wofur brauchen wir uberhaupt (Alte) Geschichte? In seinem schwungvoll geschriebenen Essay macht Neville Morley Lust, uber diese und verwandte Fragen nachzudenken. Ohne erhobenen Zeigefinger, dafur bisweilen sarkastisch oder auch humorvoll durchleuchtet er Routinen und ermutigt Anfanger ebenso wie bereits Frustrierte, sich auf dem Weg in die Antike ihres eigenen Verstandes zu bedienen.